The Vermont Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by convicted killer Jonathan Bruno.

Bruno, who was sentenced to 35 years to life for the 2007 murder of John Baptie, claimed that he was wrongly denied a motion for a new trial after a new witness came forward backing his self-defense claim. His attorney also argued that two jurors should have been excluded for cause and that the jury instructions were vague on how to weigh Bruno's claim of diminished capacity.

The Supreme Court, in an opinion issued Friday, upheld the lower court's rulings on all issues, finding that the new testimony would not likely have altered the verdict, that there were no grounds to exclude the jurors and that the jury instructions were sufficient.